


Anomaly

by orochiis



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22636915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orochiis/pseuds/orochiis
Summary: Two years is a long time when you're a fugitive.Written for the Pokémon Villains Zine.
Kudos: 26





	Anomaly

Two years is a long time to stay away from home. Two years is a particularly long time when you weren’t allowed to leave the house until three years ago. Having control over your own life is an unusual thing, N finds. There is a limit to how much he can do, even if he is finally out of the grip of his father. 

Two years is a long time when you’re a fugitive.

No one in the Hoenn region knows who he is. There’s a general air of amusement when he tells strangers that his name is N.  _ That’s not a real name _ , some old women say, but they never press him, particularly when he looks as confused as they feel. The Hoenn natives seem to be particularly friendly of this nomad- everyone in this region is so relaxed, even if he’s heard that they’ve had their own fair share of troubles in the last few years.

Travelling is fun, even if he’s on the run from the International Police. He sees a lot of the biggest tourist attractions in Hoenn- Mt. Chimney, Meteor Falls, Sky Pillar. He meets a lot of people, and learns a lot of folklore of the Hoenn region. It’s a hugely historic place, even if a lot of it just reminds him of the summer resort Undella Town back at home. He meets a lot of Pokémon, and makes a vast amount of new friends. 

Sometimes, usually late at night, he wonders if he should go home. Though home is a rather complicated construct for him. The castle was a place to live, not a home. He felt welcomed there, but the love that he’s heard others report on in their family homes was not present. Anthea and Concordia may have cared for him, but they did not  _ love _ him. In the forest, where he lived for the first period of his life, with the Pokémon, he did feel love. For the first time, and perhaps the only time.

N avoids all talk of Unova. Sometimes, he hears news, when he’s in a Pokémon Centre, or catches a headline on a newspaper outside a shop. There’s a new Champion- a girl that couldn’t be much older than the trainer that took down his father nearly two years ago. He can hardly bear to read the article, but it says this Iris trains dragon type Pokémon, and it makes him think of his only remaining friend.

Zekrom is hard to keep concealed. The only Pokémon that N befriended that he didn’t catch in a Pokéball is the only one that remains at his side. This is by choice, of course- he released all his other Pokémon under the belief that it was the right thing to do. Pokémon shouldn’t be bound by trainers, so he was told. But sometimes, he wishes that he did have a ball for Zekrom, because the novelty of keeping the damn dragon out of sight wore off after the first week.

He thanks whoever blessed him with the Hoenn region that the place has Secret Bases. Random strangers explain to him how to make his own, and N has an enjoyable time furnishing it for himself and Zekrom to live in. Usually, if N wants to go into town, Zekrom will fly somewhere, stretch its legs, its wings. And when N comes back in the evening, Zekrom is there, waiting. It brings comfort in such a strange and difficult time to know that he still has one friend. One Pokémon that’s on his side, even when things get tough for the two of them.

N thinks of his other friend, back in Unova. She was an anomaly. Most Pokémon trainers were afraid of him. He had wanted friends, other than the Pokémon he cared so deeply about. It was human nature, he supposes in retrospect. But it was hard to make friends when you were the leader of Team Plasma. When you were branded bad, even  _ evil _ , despite all you were doing was sticking to your beliefs. He thinks of Hilda, the one trainer that ever listened to him and truly took in what he had to say.

There was a lot he missed about Unova, but the conversations with her were one of the things highest up on his list. He wonders what she’s up to now- surely she’s champion? She always was a formidable opponent- and had the command of the other legendary Pokémon. She was a kind trainer, and her Pokémon clearly loved her. In a way, she was the one that really opened his eyes to the horrors of the world, not his father.

If he never had to see that man again, it would be too soon. N didn’t hate him, not at all, but there was too much hurt there, too many difficult thoughts to process that N would much rather store at the back of his head and move on from. He read the word “brainwashed” on an international newspaper in his first few weeks in Hoenn, and wonders if that truly is what his father did to him.

If he can even call Ghetsis that.

No, he’s decided, after a very long time, Pokémon trainers aren’t all bad. Of course, there are anomalies. There are trainers that will mistreat their Pokémon, just as there are parents that mistreat their children. It’s a human thing, N thinks. And it’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Pokémon love trainers, and trainers love Pokémon, and he’s glad he met Hilda, for he might never have opened his eyes to the lies Ghetsis told him.

~~~~~~~

The International Police have eyes everywhere, so she’s told. No matter how hard she looks, there’s no way she’ll find him before they do. He’s high up on their list, just under his father, so she’s told, a top priority. She’s a little sceptical, though- she’d never even heard of the International Police before she became champion.

So Hilda does the only sensible thing- after two weeks, she quits her job as the champion. She packs lightly, and tightens her ponytail, and takes off on Reshiram, in search of the other legendary Pokémon (and it’s trainer). She’s not sure where he’d go. They were never that close- and she doubts that N had much knowledge of the world outside Unova. Most of what she knows about him is from his own mouth. 

She bumped into him a lot while she was on her journey, and every time they met, he had mellowed a little. His views became less extreme over time, even if he wasn’t truly on board with the idea of Pokémon and people having a shared bond until the end. He was conflicted, she thinks, about what his father told him, and what the Pokémon he became friends with told him. What  _ her _ Pokémon told him. She doesn’t wish to take credit, but by becoming his friend, she thinks she saved him a lot of problems. She thinks (hopes) the Unova region is better for her deciding to befriend this one lost boy.

And that’s all he is, even if he’s older than she is. He’s a boy who never had the chance to grow up properly. When she thinks back to her childhood in Nuvema Town with Bianca and Cheren, she’s positive N had none of those experiences. Pokémon were his only friends, so his sisters told her. And having Pokémon as her partners and friends has been brilliant, but she couldn’t imagine life without her human friends. Maybe that’s why N can understand Pokémon- because for years, that’s all he had. Some friends that couldn’t communicate with him the way other humans could.

N is an anomaly, she thinks. That’s probably the best word she can use to describe him. Whereas most humans raise Pokémon, in his case, Pokémon raised a human. The more she thinks about the situation, and what Ghetsis did to her friend, she feels sick to her stomach. She must find him, Hilda swears. For his sake, and the sake of the Unova region. If Ghetsis were to ever rear his head again, she’s certain that N is the only one who could stop him.

~~~~~~

Aspertia City can barely be called a city. It’s small, and quaint, but Rosa wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s also far enough away from the Pokémon League that they weren’t too worried about their homes two years ago. It was terrifying to watch on TV- the League building being destroyed as a castle tore through its foundations. The shaky camera quality showed everything, including two legendary Pokémon, and Rosa doesn’t envy whatever cameraman had to hang out of a helicopter to get those shots.

She remembers seeing blurry images of the perpetrators, both of which supposedly got away. One of them was an older man, the ringleader, according to the Unova police who had been tracking him for a while (how they missed the castle under the Pokémon League, Rosa will never know). The other is younger, not that much older than her, and astonishingly pretty. Were he not a wanted criminal, she’s certain Elesa could put him to work modelling in Nimbasa City.

He’s a  _ terrorist _ , the whispers on the street say. Team Plasma is pure evil! Rosa isn’t convinced. Team Plasma was stealing Pokémon. They believed what they were doing was right. And while she doesn’t agree, the thoughts still weigh on her mind about this mysterious boy and his opinions on Pokémon two years later, when she leaves Aspertia City determined to make up her own mind.

When she reaches Driftveil City, a town that seems so far from her own, many months later, she hears about the boy from Team Plasma again. Truth be told, she had all but forgotten about him. First of all, it’s murmurs on the streets, that he’s  _ here _ , in western Unova, in a safe house in the north of the city. Rosa doubts every word she hears, but curiosity gets the better of her, and she goes looking for the safe house.

It  _ does _ exist, she discovers, much to her surprise, but N isn’t there. Team Plasma are, however, but not in the form they were two years ago. These are members that care about Pokémon, who have banded together to protect each other in these difficult times for them. They don’t seem like extremists, Rosa must admit, over a shared cup of coffee with the former members. N’s presence is still felt, palpable within this tiny remnant of the organisation. So much so that they insist she care for his Pokémon.

It’s a little strange to think about, the fact that N has a Pokémon. He was supposedly so against trainers, and yet he cared for Pokémon so much, they tell her. This Zorua is only one of many Pokémon he trained. The more Rosa learns about this N, the more confused she becomes. Who was he really- the mastermind that the media portrayed him as, or someone who deep down, really cared about Pokémon? 

~~~~~~

It’s been almost two and a half years from he left the Unova region. N finds this a little strange- for two of those years, he’s had no inkling of regret, and no desire to return. He keeps track of time the best he can, but the seasons here are less definite than at home, and he sometimes has to ask in town what date it is.

Hoenn is nice, N thinks, but it’s not the same as home.

A tiny part of him hopes he’ll be caught. That the International Police will catch up to him, and he’ll be dragged back to Unova for questioning. Or maybe someone else will find him- Hilda perhaps, or one of her friends. Maybe even his sisters- he much preferred their company growing up to that of his father. Perhaps a Hoenn native will be the one to make the connection- he’s not been entirely secretive about his identity, after all.

On a trip into town to buy apples for Zekrom (a favourite food of the legendary Pokémon), he pauses by a newsstand. The man running it gives him a curious look, but he’s too busy talking to another woman to be paying much attention to N. Usually, these headlines are boring, Hoenn news that he neither understands nor cares about. Today, though, the words in bold print scream out to him, making him feel sick to his stomach.

**THE RISE OF NEO TEAM PLASMA**

And then in smaller print to the side, when he lifts the newspaper to read it, earning him a dirty look from the man at the stand:

_ The Unova region has been peaceful for the last two years. Recently, Team Plasma has made a comeback, along with their currently wanted Ghetsis. More on page five. _

N doesn’t have time to turn to page five. He folds the paper the way he found it before, and hurries off. He buys the apples in a daze (lest he anger the great Zekrom), and makes his way back to his secret base outside the city. The apples are handed over to Zekrom, who cries out in happiness at the food. 

He’s not sure what to do. If he goes back, he’s putting himself at risk of arrest. He’s a fugitive here, but he knows he’s not safe in the long run. His luck will run out eventually. If he stays here, he’s still complicit in his father’s crimes, and he can’t stop them from happening again. N thinks of Zekrom, and he remembers Hilda, and all the Pokémon in the Unova region, and makes up his mind.

He has to return.

~~~~~~

Zekrom lands in the Icirrus Moors. It’s quiet here, and always has been, as long as N can remember. He has to gather intel, to lay low, and figure out a way to find and take down his father. He hopes it’s not too late- he can’t get any information from newspapers without going into towns. People here will recognise him no matter where he hides, and so he figures out a plan, and prays no one looks at the sky.

It takes a few weeks, but eventually he finds himself outside Lacunosa Town. He’s been tracking the Plasma Frigate from the sky- it’s difficult to miss, and when it lands at the Giant Chasm, he finds himself and Zekrom swooping in after a young trainer. Rood, he recalls, lets him past. There’s a confident twinkle in the Sage’s eye- he knows the younger trainer, it seems, and N hopes that she knows what she’s doing. It’s not Hilda, he notices, and he has to wonder where she is.

And then he sees his father, and he’s frozen. He hovers in the shadows by the cave’s entrance. Ghetsis looks different from the last time he saw him, well over two years ago. And Kyurem is with him, not the Hydreigon that N was so used to seeing by his father’s side. It’s cold in here, much too cold to be safe, and before he can think why, Kyurem is attacking the trainer at his father’s command, and N yells to Zekrom and they’re taking down the razor sharp icicles that Kyurem has produced. 

The younger trainer looks shocked, relieved that her life has not been cut short because she was trying to do the right thing. Ghetsis looks nonplussed, perhaps even smug. Why? What does this all mean? N’s hands are shaking. He and Zekrom had no qualms about throwing themselves into the path of the icicles to protect this young trainer. Is this what is feels like to be one with your Pokémon? Is this what it feels like to be a Pokémon trainer? 

And then he’s yelling at his father, his voice rising with emotion that he wasn’t sure he possessed. He  _ does _ love Pokémon, and he  _ does _ love Unova, and Pokémon trainers aren’t bad. It is his father who is evil, not trainers. Ghetsis does not care about Pokémon apart from for his own gain. He’s  _ using _ Kyurem, and Hydreigon and Cofagrigus and all the other Pokémon N has seen him with over the years. 

Before N can think rationally, Zekrom is gone. His partner, his best friend, gone before his eyes. Fused with Kyurem by Ghetsis’ hand. And he cries. He fell for Ghetsis’ plans, and this time, there is nothing he can do to disrupt them. He waits, and watches, in horror, as the other trainer battles Kyurem. He has no Pokémon aside from Zekrom, but the girl manages to take down Kyurem with ease. She reminds him of Hilda, and he smiles- this girl will make a formidable champion of Unova in the future.

She beats Ghetsis too, in a six on six battle that makes N nervous multiple times. He shouldn’t be rooting against the person who raised him, but this trainer is his only hope. She saved Zekrom. He pleads with him, begs his father to stop. But the Shadow Triad take Ghetsis away, leaving him alone with Zekrom and the other trainer. He thanks her, once and for all, and takes off on Zekrom, the nervous feeling in his stomach all but gone now that he knows Team Plasma is done once and for all.

At first, he’s not sure where to go. He could head to the Dragonspiral Tower, and let Zekrom see it’s home for the first time in years. He could hand himself in to the International Police in Castelia City. And he’s always liked the idea of living out his days in Nacrene City. But that can all come in time.

For now, it’s time to go home.


End file.
